Language is a funny thing. You describe it as 'not to bring offence' rather than as to not be offensive. There's this strong trend these days toward placing responsibility on the people reacting rather than the people instigating. Let's look at the situation:
Group A dislikes having the chosen word for their group used as a negative thing.
Group B complains that their freedom of speech is being impeded since they like using that work to degrade things.
Why does the right to be an *** always out-trump the right to be treated equally? Wired had a great article on a slightly related topic today:
Why I'm Never Going Back to Penny Arcade Expo | Underwire | Wired.com
Is it so much to ask that people consider others before they consider their personal right to do every damn thing they feel like doing?
It's something I appreciate about living in Japan. People aren't repressed here, but they also don't feel the need to invoke the idea that their personal situation trumps all. So people get along fairly well.
(In advance of the possible 'why can't minorities do that too when they hear those words' argument... If A wants to tell B they ******* suck and don't because of respect for the others feelings, is A, not being able to insult B, more put out than B, having to be hated on? I say the target of hate is, by a long margin. If you think losing your right to say offensive, insulting stuff makes you a victim, you deserve heaps of abuse.)
I think you've been misunderstanding me. I
don't think people should be allowed (like in school) or encouraged to heap insults on others with abusive words. As far as my wording in regards to that commercial, I don't think it would make much difference if I said it the way you suggested. I never use that phrase. I also don't like that phrase.
However, in the adult world I've worked with gay people, and seen the jesting they do among themselves using terms like
faggot,
queer, etc. And we also hear black people call themselves
niggers as well. When I was in elementary school, I went to a school where the majority of the students were
non-white, mostly
black. At that time, I did at times use the word
nigger. Of course now I would never call anyone that.
So it certainly can get fairly confusing when it comes to what we should and shouldn't say, when a word is offensive, and when it isn't, when it's tossed around indiscriminately.
And as I pointed out, the media has a way of working racial slurs (including jokes, suggestions, etc.) to where it becomes widely acceptable within that media outlet. I suspect that Michael Richards, and the DJ Don Imus probably thought they could get away with their jokes/rants because they've seen others get away with it like Lisa Lamponelli (who jokingly claimed that Michael Richards stole her lines if I recall correctly), who used certain strategies to allow for the usage of racial jokes, slurs, etc.
My main original point concerning the word
nigger, was that if I or anyone is going to discuss the issue of
racism without targeting anyone with insults; does it make sense to say
honky,
Wop (I'm half
Italian by the way), etc., and then when I or anyone gets to the subject of black racial slurs, have to say
The N Word? Or, should someone then have to say
The H Word, and
The W Word?
